On-site
Live the territory
- Where
- Fazenda ALUME, Ilhéus
- Typical length
- 1–4 weeks
- Best for
- Hands-on people who want daily immersion
- Includes
- Accommodation, shared meals, field access
Volunteer with ALUME
Bring your hands, your skills, or both.
Join practical regeneration in Southern Bahia or contribute remotely from wherever you are. Choose a real role, build something useful, and leave a record that lasts.
A different kind of volunteering
This is contribution, not voluntourism.
ALUME is a young regenerative institute working across restoration, science, culture, circular systems, and community learning. We welcome volunteers because meaningful work needs many kinds of intelligence—not because we need visitors to fill time.
Real work
Every placement connects to a field outcome, useful deliverable, or active institutional need.
Clear responsibility
You know what you are contributing, who you are working with, and what completion looks like.
Honest exchange
You offer time and care; ALUME offers context, learning, feedback, and a relationship to a living place.
Choose your path
Four ways in. Different commitments, one living mission.
Start with the kind of experience you actually want. Specialist placements are structured; Workaway is the lighter route for everyday farm participation.
I
On-site placement
Live at Fazenda ALUME and take responsibility for a defined piece of field, research, community, or documentation work.
Typically 1–4 weeks · Southern Bahia
II
Remote skill placement
Contribute a specific professional skill over time and complete work the institute can genuinely use.
Typically 12–24 weeks · A few hours weekly
III
Knowledge researcher
Research, document, edit, and share knowledge about ecology, conservation, regenerative practice, and cultural heritage.
Flexible · Research and writing
IV
Flexible farm stay
Prefer informal, hands-on help and everyday farm life without a defined specialist placement? Start through Workaway.
Current logistics on Workaway
At a glance
On the land or from your laptop—both build the same forest.
Remote
Build with your expertise
- Where
- Anywhere in the world
- Typical length
- 12–24 weeks
- Best for
- Specific skills offered consistently
- Includes
- Mentorship, portfolio work, collaboration
On-site · 8 defined opportunities
Live at Fazenda ALUME. Own a real piece of the work.
On-site placements are more focused than a general farm stay. You join daily life at the farm while contributing to a named role in restoration, science, community, education, art, or storytelling.
- Typically 1–4 weeks
- Shared accommodation
- Shared meals
- Current logistics confirmed before arrival
Ecological Restoration & Land Stewardship
Work directly with the nursery, planting systems, and restoration zones at Fazenda ALUME.
Ecological Restoration & Land Stewardship
Work directly with the nursery, planting systems, and restoration zones at Fazenda ALUME.
Restoration Zone Lead
Take responsibility for one restoration zone through a planting cycle: observe survival, adjust spacing and species mix, and keep a clear field record.
A good fit if: You prefer owning an outcome to completing disconnected tasks, enjoy outdoor work, and notice details in a changing landscape.
Nursery Systems Volunteer
Strengthen how seedlings are propagated and tracked by improving calendars, records, routines, and practical nursery organisation.
A good fit if: You enjoy turning practical knowledge into a system that other people can understand and continue using.
Science & Monitoring
Help create the evidence behind ALUME’s ecological claims and long-term decisions.
Science & Monitoring
Help create the evidence behind ALUME’s ecological claims and long-term decisions.
Ecological Monitoring Assistant
Support soil sampling, canopy surveys, species counts, groundwater measurements, and other field protocols with the science team.
A good fit if: You are patient with careful measurement and comfortable working outdoors in heat, mud, insects, and changing conditions.
Community, Culture & Education
Connect ecological work to learning, expression, advocacy, and the communities around the territory.
Community, Culture & Education
Connect ecological work to learning, expression, advocacy, and the communities around the territory.
Regenerative Practices Artist
Develop work connected to regeneration, ecology, or the forest and, where appropriate, share it through an open studio, workshop, or small presentation.
A good fit if: You have an active creative practice and want to participate in daily farm and community life, not work in isolation.
Local Community Representative
Help coordinate plant exchange, workshops, local communication, and follow-up so community knowledge genuinely reaches ALUME’s planning.
A good fit if: You are rooted in Aderno, Aritaguá, or the wider Ilhéus region and are comfortable with scheduling, notes, and coordination.
Professor or Educator
Help design or deliver school visits, workshops, and short learning programmes about ecology, agroforestry, and circular systems.
A good fit if: You can translate technical ideas for young or general audiences and enjoy building learning experiences with others.
Social Activist or Environmentalist
Connect ALUME with wider work in environmental justice, waste-picker rights, and land rights, while bringing a constructive critical perspective.
A good fit if: You have grassroots or advocacy experience and value genuine community voice over good optics.
Documentation & Storytelling
Make the work visible without staging or simplifying the reality of the territory.
Documentation & Storytelling
Make the work visible without staging or simplifying the reality of the territory.
Photography & Film Storyteller
Document restoration, farm life, workshops, and residencies for reports, learning materials, archives, and public communication.
A good fit if: You have a storytelling eye and can work thoughtfully with real people and imperfect field conditions.
Remote · 13 defined opportunities
Contribute a skill steadily, not just an afternoon.
Remote placements suit people who can offer a specific skill for a few hours each week across a season. The longer rhythm gives enough time to understand context, complete useful work, and receive meaningful feedback.
- Typically 12–24 weeks
- A few hours each week
- Named project contact
- Clear deliverable or workstream
Science & Monitoring
Turn field observations into organised evidence and useful knowledge.
Science & Monitoring
Turn field observations into organised evidence and useful knowledge.
Research Support
Contribute literature reviews, data organisation, cleaning, or basic analysis to an active research question with ALUME’s science team.
A good fit if: You have research training in ecology, biology, or a related field and work carefully in an asynchronous team.
Circular Economy & Materials — AMI³
Help test early ideas for turning locally collected waste into useful community materials.
Circular Economy & Materials — AMI³
Help test early ideas for turning locally collected waste into useful community materials.
AMI³ is an early-stage concept, not yet an operating facility. These roles involve ambiguity, research, and honest testing rather than a finished production system.
Circular Materials Engineer
Research and test early formulations for useful materials made from recovered waste, documenting what works and what fails.
A good fit if: You have materials-science, chemistry, or civil-engineering knowledge and are comfortable with iterative testing.
Mechatronics Engineer
Explore the mechanical and control systems behind simple early equipment, with a path from manual processes toward appropriate automation.
A good fit if: You have mechanical, electrical, or mechatronics experience and enjoy practical early-stage hardware problems.
Materials or Industrial Engineer
Design sorting, quality-control, and testing processes that can begin at small scale and grow without being rebuilt from zero.
A good fit if: You understand process design and prefer creating a sensible system before reaching for complex machinery.
3D Printing Specialist
Advise on the realistic possibilities and limits of printing or moulding with recycled-waste feedstock.
A good fit if: You have hands-on 3D-printing experience and can give direct technical advice to a project that is still being defined.
Bio-Architect
Explore structures made from waste-derived and natural materials, designed for Bahia’s climate and local conditions.
A good fit if: You have architecture or bioconstruction experience and enjoy designing around unconventional materials.
Communications
Help the right people understand the work without exaggerating what is still early.
Communications
Help the right people understand the work without exaggerating what is still early.
Content Maker
Plan and produce written, photographic, or short-video content about restoration, research, and community work.
A good fit if: You communicate clearly, ideally in Portuguese and English, and care more about useful stories than constant posting.
Social Media Manager
Develop a consistent publishing rhythm, respond to the community, and learn what meaningfully builds engagement.
A good fit if: You have managed social accounts and prefer building a credible audience to chasing short-lived virality.
Design & Technology
Build the visual and digital tools that help a young institute communicate and operate well.
Design & Technology
Build the visual and digital tools that help a young institute communicate and operate well.
Graphic Designer
Create education, fundraising, and communication materials that feel warm, clear, and institutionally credible.
A good fit if: You have a portfolio and a feel for grounded design that avoids both corporate gloss and visual clutter.
Web & IT Support
Improve ALUME’s website and digital tools through front-end, back-end, data, UX, or technical maintenance work.
A good fit if: You have practical digital skills and can make progress in an evolving, early-stage technology environment.
Video Editor
Turn raw farm, workshop, and residency footage into concise videos for public communication and reporting.
A good fit if: You understand pacing and can work efficiently with social-first editing tools and imperfect source footage.
Management, Fundraising & Grants
Strengthen the quiet systems that make fieldwork possible and keep it funded.
Management, Fundraising & Grants
Strengthen the quiet systems that make fieldwork possible and keep it funded.
Grants & Partnerships Researcher
Find relevant funding calls, confirm eligibility, and help develop an honest first application from research through submission.
A good fit if: You research carefully, write clearly, and have patience for eligibility rules and administrative detail.
Administration & Organisational Support
Support scheduling, basic records, shared documents, and other operational work that keeps the institute organised.
A good fit if: You are reliable, systematic, and comfortable contributing behind the scenes.
Knowledge community researcher
Help useful knowledge travel beyond the farm.
Research, document, edit, and share material for ALUME’s growing knowledge portal. This path is flexible and works well for people interested in careful inquiry, writing, open knowledge, or cultural documentation.
Plant medicine
Sustainable living
Environmental conservation
Cultural heritage
Prefer a simpler farm stay?
Come through Workaway for everyday farm life.
If you want informal hands-on participation—planting, daily tasks, shared meals, and time in the landscape—our Workaway listing is the clearest route. Current availability, minimum stays, accommodation, and meal arrangements are maintained there.
What the exchange offers
Leave with more than a memory.
Motivation matters more than a polished résumé. We welcome students, professionals, researchers, artists, career-changers, and practical people who are ready to listen, contribute consistently, and work with care.
A contribution with a record
Your work connects to a defined outcome, field record, deliverable, or active project.
Learning through real work
Build practical knowledge with the territory, team, methods, and constraints that shape regeneration.
A meaningful reference
Longer placements can receive a reference describing the work you actually completed.
A community beyond the placement
Stay connected to ALUME’s team, collaborators, and future opportunities as the institute grows.
How it works
One application. A clear conversation. A useful beginning.
Choose your path
Decide whether on-site, remote, knowledge research, or a flexible Workaway stay fits you best.
Send one application
Tell us your skills, preferred role, availability, and why ALUME’s work matters to you.
Meet the team
If there is a useful match, we arrange a conversation and define scope, timing, and expectations.
Begin with a clear brief
Every structured placement starts with a named contact, concrete responsibilities, and a shared outcome.
Apply
Tell us what you can contribute—and what you hope to learn.
The same form covers on-site, remote, and knowledge roles. Choose the closest path, share your availability, and be honest about your experience and motivation. We normally reply within two weeks.